Schock will ‘roll with’ TMZ ambushes as communications tool

Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) might have been confused when the Hollywood gossip site TMZ.com tracked him down on Capitol Hill, but that doesn’t mean the site can’t be used for constituent outreach, he says.

“I didn’t agree to the interviews and wasn’t sitting down in a set-up environment,” Schock said Sunday during an appearance on CNN. “But I think it is important for someone in my position to roll with it and use it to my advantage and the advantage of my constituents. And a means to communicate.”

“I also think some of these alternative forums are important because it gives non- traditional voters engaged,” Schock explained. “If they’re learning about me on TMZ or some of these other blogs, and YouTube videos, then they are recognizing my face and my name so that when I am out on CNN or the other networks talking about issues, they’re going to maybe stop from clicking the channel and listen to what I have to say.”

CNN showed two clips of Schock’s interactions with TMZ videographers, one in which he is asked about Washington, D.C. nightlife (while on his cell phone with a constituent, Schock said), and another in which he was asked if he or President Obama had better abdominal muscles.

The gossip website has substantially expanded its D.C. operations in recent months, targeting lawmakers and other Washington personalities with its paparazzi-like tactics.

I didn’t know what was going on. I’m on my way to the floor for a vote, I’m talking to a constituent literally on my cell phone, and there’s some guy with a handy-cam in street clothes walking next to me. I didn’t know what to expect.

“I was actually surprised by how many text messages, e-mails, phone calls I got from stay at home moms that were watching the show,” he explained. “People that log onto their Web site I guess regularly and check out the news on TMZ.”

Watch a video of the exchange here.